Wethersfield Police News

A man who police have said was shot by a jewelry store manager during a robbery Thursday was charged Monday with robbery and other felonies at his hospital bed in Hartford.

William Hicks, 40, of Hartford, was charged in Hartford Hospital, where he is recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Bill Murray, manager of Dynamic Coin & Jewelry on Silas Deane Highway, fired the shot after he broke free of duct tape that two men used to bind his hands, police said.

Police found Hicks, wounded, inside the store. A second suspect, Douglas Paige, 34, of Middletown, whom police accused of running off with a ripped plastic bag containing coins and gems, was arrested minutes later.

Paige was presented Friday in New Britain Superior Court and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Hicks will be taken to court after he is discharged from the hospital.

* Two men were accused Friday of assaulting two tow truck operators who were repossessing a car that was parked on Rutledge Road.

Michael Sansabrino, 33, and James Sansabrino, 64, both of 109 Rutledge Road, confronted the tow truck operators who were hooking up the 1997 Pontiac Trans-Am to their truck about 3:30 a.m., police said.

Michael Sansabrino was charged with threatening and first-degree reckless endangerment. James Sansabrino was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree assault.

Both men were released on $250 non-surety bonds for appearance May 9 in New Britain Superior Court.

During the fight, both tow truck operators sustained minor injuries. Police said James Sansabrino was holding keys in his hand and hit one of the men in the face. Sansabrino had removed the keys from the tow truck to try to stop them, police said.

At one point, Michael Sansabrino, who had owned the car, grabbed a shotgun and threatened one of the operators, police said. The shotgun was not loaded.